Wall and reenforcing means therefor



July 23, 1935. f G. H.`E| |.|s 2,008,755

WALL AND REENFORCING MEANS THEEFOR I Filed my 19, 1952 INvsN-ron GEORG: H. :Lug

AT'roRNzYs Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES WALL AND BEENFORCING MEANS THEREFOR George H. Ellis, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to The Insulite Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a oorporation of Minnesota Application July 19, 1932, Serial No. 623,335

15 Claims. (CL 72-32) This invention relates to improvements in wall structures and means for reenforcing such structures, and has, among its objects, to so arrange and reenforce overlapped board-like elements or slabs of a. wall structure as to prevent opening of the overlapped joints when pressure is applied against faces of, the slabs (as when applying plaster thereto) and when this pressure is applied in a direction toward and at points between the studding to which the slabs are attached.

Features of the invention include: the wall structure; the use .of fibrous slabs in forming said structure; the reenforcing element or device per se and its method and means of attachment; the specific arrangement of the slabs to form the wall; their proportionate lengths and widths in relation to the spacing distance between the studding; the arrangement of the vertical joints on the studding; the staggered relations of the vertical joints of one horizontal row of slabs with reference to the joints of a contiguous horizontal row; and generally all details of construction of the reenforcing element, and means for connecting it to the slabs.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of the drawing forming a part of this application, and in said drawing Figure 1 is a face view showing one embodiment of my invention as applied in the formation of a wall;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

' Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the looped reenforcing element;

Figure 5 is a view of the staple for securing the looped element to one of the wall slabs; and

Figure 6 is a, section of a modified form of the invention, taken across the joint and through the loop portion of the reenforcing element.

In the drawing, numeral lI indicates studding against which are laid slabs preferably of brous material 2, suitable as a plaster base. These slabs are secured to the studding by means of suitable fastening devices 3, generally nails. The length of the slabs ordinarily is about forty-eight inches, and the Width is ordinarily about eighteen inches. Eachslab in this instance engages four studs, the distances between the studs b'eing about sixteen inches. The long dimension of the slab is transverse to the studding and the end abutment of contiguous slabs of the horizontal rows preferably takes place on the studding, as shown at 4. The vertical joints need not be overlapped.

'I'he slabs are formed and laid to provide shiplapped horizontal longitudinal joints generally indicated at 5, see Figure 2, and for this purpose the opposite edges of each slab 2 are cutout respectively as at 6-1 to provide recesses or notches at opposite longitudinal edges, which face in opposite directions. Although, in this instance, each slab 2 is corner notched, there is no intention to be limited to the shape of the longitudinal edges of the slabs, though they are preferably formed to provide an overlapped joint; the opening of which over-lapped joint it is an object of this invention to prevent.

The vertical joints l of one horizontal row of slabs 2 are preferably olf-set or staggered with respect to those of any contiguous horizontal row as shown.

As before stated, it is an important object of this invention to prevent breaking of the air seal by opening the ship-lapped or overlapped joints. The soft or porous slabs of fiber composition, which are preferably sound-proof and by which the Walls are formed, are somewhat iiexible, and during application of the plaster suicient pressure is often applied to cause them to give or bow at those portions between the studding, so that the joint is often opened. When the joints are open, under these conditions, plaster may enter between the overlapped portions of the slabs and remain there so that the joint cannot `be closed under natural recoil force of the slabs.

It results that the wall may be uneven, and that the air seal may be broken, and thewall will not be sound-proof.

To prevent this opening of the joints, reenforcing elements are provided which, in this embodiment, have the form of looped elements, each -made by bending a piece of metal, preferably in the form of a wire, upon itself, to provide two arms I5 convergent in a direction away from the bend I6. The terminal portion I1 of each arm is preferably laterally arcuately bent in direction away from the other, to complete (as looped reenforcing element is preferably attached across the joint and engage the contiguous slab 2. To secure the reenforcingelement in operative position, when pressure is applied to the face of the upper slab 2 in a direction of the arrow, I preferably provide a staple 20 that is attached as best shown in Figure 3, at a point between the spikes and the joint. This staple prevents the reinforcing element from swinging about the prongs as a center, when pressure is applied against the face of the slabs in a direction toward the studding and at points intermediate of the studding.

Each staple is preferably pressed firmly into position and its ends are clinched as at 2|. This staple and the prongs I8 provide a very rigid structure. The staple is preferably applied at a point adjacent the joint, and, referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that when pressure is applied in direction of the arrow to the uppermost slab 2 of this figure, the lower portion of the arms engaging the lower slab 2 prevent movement of the upper slab in direction of the arrow, the principal strain being against the staple as a fulcrum.

The looped reenforcing element not only acts to prevent opening of the joint, but also assists in bonding of the plaster to the surfaces of the fibrous material of the slabs. It has been found that the particular shape of the reenforcing. element acts to reduce the cracking of the plaster. Although the plaster has been omitted in Figures 2 and 3, for the sake of cleamess, it can be seen, by inspection of Figure 3, that due t the circular cross-section of the wire and its tangent relation to the surface of the slabs, bonding grooves or corners or notches are provided. For slabs of the dimensions mentioned, the over-all length of the reenforcing element is preferably about two and one-half inches, the length, as measured from tip to tip of the curved portions I1 (or head of the T) is preferably about one and one-half inches, the curve of the bend I6 is preferably about an inch in diameter. The staple is preferably applied about an inch below the prongs in a direction toward the joint, and as near to the joint as practicable. Preferably, substantially equal portions of the arms engage respective slabs. While it is preferable to apply the plaster to the wall face onwhich the looped reenforcing elements appear in order to assist in a bonding of the plaster, as explained above, it will of course be understood that the plaster may be applied to the opposite face if desired. In either case the joint will not separate upon application ofpressure.

It will be noted that, `as shown, the width of each slab 2 is substantially equal to the distance between the studding and it will be further noted that the length of each sheet is substantially equal to three times this distance, It will be furtheir noticed that the vertical butt joints are on the studding, and that the vertical joints of contiguous horizontal rows of sheets are staggered relative to one another. ff

This invention nds valuable application on walls formed by composition fiber slabs, to provide a plaster base. 'Ihe slabs which form the wall may be composed of berized cellulosic material such as wood, including poplar, spruce, jack pine, etc., or bagasse or other vegetable fiber, and are capable of absorbing a considerable amount of water from wet plaster applied to them.

As shown in Figure 6, the slabs may be of the kind shown in my Patent No. 1,725,787, so constructed that when properly laid, a depression is formed for increasing the depth of plaster at the expansion joint. In this instance, the means for taking care of the expansion includes an area of reduction of abutting surface of contiguous slabs, as described in said patent.

In this form, the longitudinal edges of each slab 25 are corner-notched to provide a recess, and these recesses 26-21 respectively face in opposite directions, at opposite face sides of the board. The depth of one of the recesses in a direction transversely of the slab is greater than the other, so that a long tongue 28 is provided at one edge and a short tongue 29 at the other. The result is that when the slabs are placed as shown in the drawing, a long and short tongue engage, thereby providing a recess or groove 30 so that when a plaster coat 3l is applied, the plaster enters the groove or recess and bonds around the bridging portions I of the open work element, as well as with those portions of the element which engage the surface of the slabs, as in the rst form. This depression 30 extends across and lengthwise of the expansion joint, and the plaster is thus thicker in the =region of and throughout the longitudinal extent thereof. The contacting surfaces of the slabs are also reduced in area to allow for expansion without buckling of the slabs, as explained in my former patent above referred to.

The present invention is, however, applicable to any structure in which it is desired to prevent the opening of a joint.

In plastering, it is desirable to provide depth markers to act as guides, helping the plasterer to evenly apply the plaster. Without such markers, he may apply the plaster unevenly and so that it is too thin in some places. This undesirable operation is called Skinning the jo Such thinning or Skinning reduces wall strength, as well as insulating ability, and is, therefore, objectionable.

Each looped reeiiforcing element of this invention is formed from wire which is about oneeighth of an inch in diameter and after application, these wires project from the wall about three-sixteenths of an inch. The reenforcing elements, therefore, serve when applied to the plaster side of the wall, as markers or grounds which assist the plasterer in avoiding Skinning. This is a valuable feature.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with studding, slabs of material secured to and bridging the studding and formed to provide an overlapped joint which extends transversely of the studding, a plurality of looped reenforcing structures each attached to one of two contiguous slabs and extending across the corresponding lapped joint and engaging the other to prevent opening of the joint when pressure is applied against faces of the slabs, each of said looped structures having prongs which are driven into one slab, and a staple securing the looped structure to that same slab at a point between the prongs and the joint, whereby a swinging movement about the prongs as a center is prevented.

2. A plaster-receiving base of fiber composition composed of a plurality of slabs formed and laid to provide an overlapped joint which can be opened by pressure applied against one face, and

3. A plaster-receiving base of fiber composition composed of a plurality of slabs formed and laid to provide an overlapped joint which can `be opened by pressure applied against one face, and plural means arranged across the joint to prevent opening as the result o f such applied pressure, each means having two spaced arms, and each arm having a prong driven into one and the same slab, and means to prevent swinging of each of said plural means about the prongs as a center, said anti-swinging means being arranged between the prongs andthe joint and being attached to the slab into which the prongs are driven, the terminals of the arms having portions extending outwardly away from one another and the prongs being formed at the terminals of said outwardly extending portions.

4. A plaster receiving base of fiber composition composed of a plurality of elements laid in substantially coplanar relation to form a joint, and so that the elements can be pressed from coplanar relation with one another during application of plaster to one surface, and means arranged across the joint, and lying only on one side of the plaster-receiving base, and attached to one of the elements and acting to prevent movement of one of the elements to a non-coplanar relation with the other as a result of applied pressure.

5. A wall structure including studding, slabs of fibrous material secured to and bridging the studding and provided with overlapped joints which extend transversely to the studding, and a plurality of means each rigidly attachedto the plaster receiving faces of the slabs and extending across the overlapped joints and engaging the faces of the slabs, thus preventing opening of the joints when plastering pressure is applied against the faces of the slabs in a direction toward and at points between the studdings.

6. A wall structure including studdings, slabs of fibrous material secured to and bridging the studding and provided with overlapped joints which extend transversely to the studding, a series of looped reenforcing structures each attached to one of the two contiguous slabs, and extending across the corresponding lapped joint and engaging the other slab to prevent opening of the joints when pressure is applied against the faces of the slab in a direction toward and at points between the studding.

7. In a wall, moisture absorbable, sound absorbable plaster receiving base composed of a plurality of fibrous slabs provided with a longitudinal overlapped joint capable of opening by applied pressure and rigid means on one face of the slab and extending across the joint to reenforce the plaster and prevent opening of the joint as the 'result of applied pressure.

8. A plaster receiving base composed of a plurality of expansible slabs of composition ber provided with overlapped edges forming an air tight joint which can be opened by 'pressure applied against one face, and means of substantial width extending across the joint and engaging the faces of the slabs to prevent opening of the joint and introduction of plaster therein as the result of such applied pressure.

9. In a Wall, slabs of composition ber each having longitudinal marginal portions provided with a tongue on one edge and a depression on the opposite edge to form an air tight joint capable of opening when pressure is applied against their faces, a portion of the tongue member of the slabs being cut away to provide a depression extending aoross'and lengthwise of thejoint to provide for an increased depth of plaster in the region of the joint and throughout its longitudinal extent, wire loops on the plaster receiving face of the slabs and extending across the joint and bridging the depression and engaging the face of the adjacent slab to prevent opening of the joint as the result of applied pressure and for assisting in the bonding of the plaster.

10. In a wall, slabs of soft composition fiber, each slab provided with a tongue on one edge and a depression on the opposite edge cooperating to form air tight expansion joints capable of opening when pressure is applied against their faces, a portion of the tongue member of the slabs being cut away to provide a depression extending across and lengthwise of the joint to provide for an increased depth of the plaster in the region of the joint and throughout its longitudinal extent, and means rigidly secured on the plaster 4receiving face of one of the slabs and extending across the joint and bridging the depression and engaging the face of the adjacent slab to prevent opening of the joint as the result of applied pressure and for assisting in the bonding of the plaster.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of brous composition board capable ofv acting as a plaster receiving base and provided with a tongue on one edge and a depression on the opposite edge to cooperate with a like sheet to -form an over-lapped joint, and means rigidly attached to one face of the sheet adjacent one edge and extending outwardly therebeyond in substantially coplanar relation to that face.

12. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of brous composition board capable of acting as a plaster receiving base, opposite edges on two sides provided` with a tongue and a depression to cooperate with a like sheet to form an interlocked air tight joint', and means attached to one face of the sheet adjacent one edge and extending outwardly therebeyond in substantially coplanar relation to that face, and means to prevent swinging of the said means about its point of attachment with the sheet.

13. A wall structure including-studding and,

two sheets of plaster base material secured to and bridging the studding and cooperating to form an air tight joint capable of being opened by applied plastering pressure, and means rigidly attached to one face of one sheet and extending across the joint to engage the face of the other sheet to prevent opening of the joint by such applied pressure.

14. A wall structure including studding and two sheets of plaster base material secured to and bridging the studding and cooperating to form an air tight joint capable of being opened by applied plastering pressure, and an anti-joint opening device arranged on one face of the wall across the joint, and means attaching said device to the face of one 'of the sheets, including a plurality of fastening means spaced and disposed between one end of the device and 'the joint.

15. A wall structure including studding and sheets of plaster base material secured to and bridging the studding, and providing an air tight joint capable of being opened by applied plastering` pressure, and means arranged across the joint but not passing therethrough and attached to prevent opening of the joint by such applied pressure.

GEORGE H. ELLIS. 

